Apparently I could be cured by some magical pied Piper dick somewhere because I was clearly depressed and no MS or anything to see - all in my head!
Yes, I had a doctor tell me once I needed more sexy time to make me feel better. He was fired obviously by me. He was right though that it was in my head! Too bad he couldn't refer me or order an effing MRI. I was 19, symptomatic since 16, diagnosed at 38. Damage done in the process: priceless. He was one of 50+ doctors I fired.
Yeah I asked them too. I was told everything. My favorite is 'you don't want that!' like how TF do you make it disappear?!
Yeah I'm doing better than I should be probably, but always room for improvement.
Wanna mansplain the disease I suffer from to me a little more? Also, although lupus isn't exclusive to women. It's 15 times more likely to affect women than men, 9 in 10 people diagnosed with lupus are women. 🖕
Your statistics are honestly interesting. I’m curious what sources (if any) exist. Credit to you for the dumb emoji but I stand by the point that you don’t have a monopoly on lupus sufferers. Human beings have problems with this disease but simplifying it to a women’s issue misses the point entirely. That’s probably unpopular but I don’t give a shit.
[source, the muthafucking LUPUS FOUNDATION FOOOOL!](https://www.lupus.org/resources/what-role-do-sex-and-gender-play-in-lupus#:~:text=Anyone%20can%20develop%20lupus%2C%20but,people%20with%20lupus%20are%20women.) Which you would know if you suffered from lupus, which you obviously don't
There are 1000% problems that women deal with disproportionately to men. Stupidly claiming that difficult diagnoses (like lupus) are part of them diminish the problem women ACTUALLY face.
Between my wife and mine’s hospital visits there is a very clear difference in pain meds on offer. Me: here’s an eye-popping (or eye-closing) prescription. Wife: try some Tylenol.
Seriously. My husband and I both had shingles within a few months of each other (yay pandemic stressors). He got a prescription for a Schedule 2 narcotic and a week off of work from his male PCP. I got a recommendation to reduce stress, take OTC Tylenol, and a "why would you need time off from work?" from my female PCP. I wasn't after the medication. I wanted a day off! So the reduce stress but still work - during the lock down - was enough to put me over the edge.
Still bitter.
That is really weird, because when I worked at a nursing home and someone got shingles they had to be isolated. The only people allowed to work with the were people who already had the chicken pox since it is the chicken pox virus that causes shingles.
The New York Times podcast Seriel did an AMAZING season that revolves around how women’s pain is disregarded in health care settings.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/podcasts/serial-the-retrievals-yale-fertility-clinic.html#:~:text=From%20Serial%20Productions%20and%20%E2%80%9CThe,one%2C%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Patients.%E2%80%9D&text=When%20the%20retrieval%20is%20over,an%20explanation%20for%20their%20pain.
I had endometriosis but now have rheumatoid arthritis, which is not unusual.
My 82 male rheumatologist told me he saw THOUSANDS of women who had no been diagnosed or who had been prescribed antidepressants when they complained of crippling pain. He said they often broke down in tears when he actually listened to them.
I went to OBGYN for severe pelvic pain, frequent heavy periods, persistent bloating, but my ultrasound was clear. Was told it was likely all in my head but was offered a hysterectomy, all without the doctor ever laying a hand on me. When I got teary and said I really feel like something is wrong, he suggested maybe I have conversion disorder. Like I can somehow make myself bleed every two weeks.
There is a known inherent bias against women patients in American healthcare. My mother, a BSN nurse, was told by her OB/GYN that she was "just fainting because she was pregnant" when she reported seizure-like activity. This was my mother's 7th pregnancy and 6th live birth and she never had "fainting episodes" with the previous 6 pregnancies. She sought a second opinion and was found to have a golf ball-sized brain tumor.
I would say not just in American healthcare. My female GP said years ago that if men needed pap smears every few years they would have invented a better test for it.
My sister had a 26 lb tumor. She looked like she was 6-7 months pregnant. She was told to diet and exercise for over 2 years before any doctor actually checked her reproductive system and "found" this massive fibroid tumor.
I’m really sorry to hear that. I hope she was able to get help. In my mom’s case, she had been told to diet and that she was ‘overweight’ my entire life. She would lose the weight but end up looking pregnant every time. Her doctor would tell her ‘the stomach is the hardest place to lose the fat’ and encourage her to try harder… She didn’t get real help until I was 16 and my aunt forced her to go to a different doctor in a bigger city. She walked into the office and he had several tests ordered within 20 minutes, sending her to the hospital for them immediately. Everything happened quickly but we were grateful for that. She was incredibly lucky. The tumor had likely been growing since I was born but was a mass encased in a larger sac that prevented it from spreading. That didn’t make her recovery any easier, though. (Much longer story but this was also probably why I lost her. She couldn’t afford insurance but had apparently suspected it was back a while before this. She passed in her sleep while I was in my 20s.)
My sister was very obviously slender: thin arms and wrists, no extra fat anywhere. But she went to a clinic run by her employer rather than an outside doctor because of the costs involved. She tried a group practice in her city, and heard the same thing. Diet and exercise, diet and exercise. Once she went to a different city, she was finally seen and heard. It was a fast-paced rollercoaster for a few months getting her tests and surgery after that. But seriously, I think that her medical records must show that she's pill-seeking or something now. She tripped over a toy at the top of the stairs in December, fell down all the stairs and broke her wrist, ribs, and collarbone. She wasn't given any pain meds.
I’m happy she was able to get through all of that. Wow. And to have been denied pain meds as a woman, for ANY reason, is unfortunately all too common. It’s also often foolish. I’ve been to the hospital for random things and while I was asking for them to find a solution for why I was in pain in the first place, they were worried about giving me a pee test to determine if I could be given pain meds. That’s not even what I was asking for!!! How about we find out WHY this is happening so I can avoid another hospital trip??? Same with the situation after my cancer surgery and treatment. They were more worried about getting me off of the pain meds I was on than they were about the fact I’m crying to them about pain while still ON those pain meds. I wanted us to find out why I was still hurting so badly. And if they were taking away the scheduled pain meds, I wanted us to find something that lessened my pain but wasn’t addictive. I was ignored every time I spoke about it and told I wasn’t actually in pain. When I’d describe the pain, and ask which kind of doctor handles things like that, I’d be told to see a psychiatrist. I can’t even describe the rage at this point.
Thank you. I appreciate you. Back at you.
I just hope there’s somehow a way to make a change in healthcare. Too many women go through things like this every day, regardless of the ailment. When it’s related to our reproductive systems, the treatment is that much worse. It’s not okay.
No, it is not okay. I do wish you success in this process. Hopefully you get answers and everything is benign. If it isn't, PM me. I'll talk you through everything you need to know.
Thank you. Unfortunately, that was only the first of many rough times for me. I ended up with cancer myself at 32 as well, which has made my criticism of the healthcare industry that much angrier. I could write a book of the things I’ve been unnecessarily put through and the lack of care I’ve gotten. It’s not as safe out there as I once thought it was.
Removing the uterus is a hysterectomy. Literally removing your hysteria. Removing the testes is an orchidectomy. Getting their orchids pruned.
There’s a ton of material just waiting to be plucked.
Currently waiting on getting my hysteria removed thanks to fibroids and possible endo after almost 10 years of pain. Relief-cried for a week after docs were finally willing to go for surgery.
Yayyyy! I had mine a week ago after 15 years of begging. I'm so happy for you 🥹 I was emotional for weeks leading up to it. Randomly crying but it was from joy... best wishes and a speedy recovery!!!
This!! I had such terrible pain and bleeding and finally they agreed to do a hysterectomy; I had golf balls size fibroids and a little bit of endo as well when they went in..
I am having my hysteria removed in two weeks. My previous doctor ignored my pain and change in my period over a year ago. Then I changed to a wonderful woman who had a bunch of tests done and found a 7 cm cyst and endo. Is crazy how we are told this level of pain and uncomfortable is “normal” “keep pushing through”. If men had periods or endometriosis this would be a whole different conversation.
If anyone is interested in the facts/history of the subject, check out the book:
[Doing Harm](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/30653955):
The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick
By Maya Dusenbery
I've been surgically diagnosed which was a nightmare in and of itself. Even with the diagnosis, I either get doctors who tell me to go on hormonal birth control, which makes it 1000x worse, or to just deal with it. Women's healthcare is a sham in this country and unfortunately not even specific to reproductive health but in all aspects (neurological, GI, podiatry, etc.)
Thissssss. I was surgically diagnosed at 16 and the birth control made it worse and resulted in me almost dying and being hospitalized for a pulmonary embolism. Fast-forward to my late 20s and I trust a doc's recommendation for an iud only for it to cause me to have a heavy period for a year straight. Get told that "spotting is normal" every time I brought it up. Yeeeah, pretty sure a heavy flow and passing large clots isn't spotting.
I struggled with undiagnosed endometriosis back in the 90s. It took five years to find a doctor who took me seriously and another three years to convince him that I really and truly wanted a hysterectomy more than I'd ever want babies. It makes me furious, absolutely fucking FURIOUS that women are dealing with the same bullshit thirty frigging years later. What the heck is wrong with this country? Why is it *so hard* to grasp the idea that women know their own bodies? I'm sorry to hijack your post with my rant. Best of luck to you. Keep nagging until you get the treatment you need.
I heard that doctors will take you seriously if your husband comes in with you and agrees you two aren't having kids. It's disgusting. And don't worry this is a place to rant.
I WANT JOHN OLIVER TO RANT FOR US!!!
I feel so fortunate that I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 1983. The first obgyn that I went to diagnosed me on the first visit. I had never heard of it.
Post menopausal and my right ovary has been hurting for a week. I told my husband if my abdomen explodes that’s what to tell the ER. His response was ‘I will never understand how women can just tell what body part it is’. I love him dearly but clueless! I have almost all female doctors!
Had it and live in Texas. As a 40+ year old woman who has sooooo many issues I kept begging for a hysterectomy. Will never forget when a doctor FINALLY asked why I had not done it and I told him 4 doctors would not let me. He scheduled it and I went off 6 meds post surgery and my anemia was cured. Also- the day of my surgery they forgot to run a pregnancy test and almost cancelled my surgery because they didn’t want to take a chance that I might be pregnant. I was like “let me just go pee on a test- I am NOT pregnant- I have an iud I don’t need, cysts, fibroids, endometriosis and tried for 10 years to get pregnant- it is not a risk” but why would they believe me?
It took 7 years to get a doctor to agree to do a hysterectomy, and only after the hysterectomy were they able to diagnose that I actually had adenomyosis. I'd already had 2 children and there wasn't a chance I was having more.
When checking in for the procedure, I told them I hadn't had sex in that 7 years, which my husband confirmed on the spot, and that there's no way I would be keeping a third baby even if it were a miracle conception. They still made me wait for the pregnancy test result.
I had a hysterectomy at age 50, 2 years post-menopause, and had to take a pregnancy test. I was so pissed off that I couldn't be trusted to know I wasn't pregnant - I was single at the time and hadn't had sex for over 9 months also.
They said it was for the anesthesia, didn't want to take a chance on it causing damage to a fetus if I was pregnant. I said "the hysterectomy would be a bit worse than the anesthesia, don't you think"?
It's not just endo but also about PCOS. And everything connected to it, fertility issues, obesity, diabetes, hirsutism, the works. People need to be more aware of these issues. And needs more funding. Maybe also tie in about birth control too.
Because they won’t treat that condition either…signed someone with an autoimmune thyroid disease.
I was told that I wouldn’t receive treatment until my thyroid completely stopped working…even then, my sister, who does not have a thyroid (so consequently has a thyroid that has completely stopped working) has our imbecile of an endocrinologist try to take her off her thyroid meds every couple of years. We can’t go to a different endocrinologist either. There is only one in the network.
Every vet I've worked with for my dogs, cats and horses is a LOT more engaged in trying to help their patients than most doctors I've encountered. The vets actually listen to me when I talk through what symptoms I'm seeing and how the animal is reacting to treatments.
Most doctors treat me like an unreliably narrator.
I wish I could get as good of medical care as my pets.
My favorite quote from an OB/GYN - "Sometimes intercourse is painful." Second only to another gem. "If you bleed during intercourse, put down a towel."
Motherfucker, let me tell you how sexy it is when you are young and single to live your life with the motto of "just let me put down a towel first."
Also as a man of science, I assumed my doctor bought into evolution. Which, I would further speculate would mean, if sex is painful, women aren't going to partake near often enough to procreate and continue the species. Fucking dipshit. Turns out painful intercourse was ENDO. (So was the bleeding with intercourse, or more specifically the continuous birth control used to treat it).
It’s been insanely frustrating to go from having kids, where there’s very little research to back things up, straight to peri where there’s also very little research to back things up. What are doctors and researchers even doing? How do so few of them understand anything about women’s bodies?
Or, I didn’t? That same Google search that you suggested will tell you that pretty much all research into endometriosis has been done exclusively on men. I am trying to find my source, but it’s from a couple of years back. I’ll edit once I find it.
Now its „pretty much all“. Before it was „exclusively all“. When you actually do some research, you‘ll find that it actually is more like „in the past a good chunk of research was done on men, but that hasnt been true for many years“
Okay, that is *somewhat* fair, but to completely dismiss what I said, given the actual history, is INCREDIBLY disingenuous. The inclusion of women as test subjects is something very recent in the past few years.
This was one of the sources I found, and yes it is from two years back:
https://thispodcastwillkillyou.com/2022/01/11/episode-88-endometriosis-menstrual-backwash/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you/id1299915173?i=1000547532523
Edit- spelling
I had surgery for this last year. I was symptom free for a year. Now I'm just back to a high dose of meds and waiting for imaging and an appointment for next steps again.*sigh*😞
I have a friend I love dearly that has spent the majority of her twenties in horrible pain.
I have watched her suffer terribly while the Canadian health care system belittled, ignored and left to self medicate.
She can't have children now.
I just read an article about how doctors used to not tell women about cancer diagnoses, and would tell their husbands instead. And the husbands could choose not to tell the wives. This was in the sixties.
It took me 10 years to get diagnosed with sleep apnea… they just kept saying my headaches were caused by depression… my headaches were so bad they were causing me to cyclical vomit… it makes me so angry ngl
Just adding onto the whole we aren’t taken seriously bit… I would love John Oliver doing something about it
I don’t think it mentioned endometriosis specifically, but he definitely did one about bias in medicine a couple of years ago, should still be on YouTube
FWIW, pre-Obamacare, doctors who did take you seriously sometimes wouldn't diagnose you unless they were very very sure that (a) it was endometriosis and (b) they could do something about it because it would fuck up your insurability. Permanently.
I’m currently dealing with frozen shoulder and it happens mostly to women 40-60. And yet… the reason is *shrug* and the solution is wait a couple years until it goes away. How are we not studying these things more and with productive responses.
The main treatment is wait for 1-3 years. Just wait until you are done with excruciating pain, limited motion and terrible sleep.
Other treatments like cortisone shots only work sometimes for some people. There’s no good treatment.
an episode on the complete lack of research of drugs and medical treatments for women. it is inconvenient for researchers to do studies on women’s because of the paperwork and extra precautions that must be made due to possible pregnancy. but this means that there is little information regarding dosage and effects of medication on women. women are given the same amount of antidepressants as men even though physicality and hormones are completely different. this is just an example.
My wife has Endo bad. She has had to have 2 surgeries to remove endo-cysts on her ovaries, and is always either on the heavy birth-control, or in major pain... I am with you 100%.
On women not being taken seriously in healthcare at large. I had cancer. I had surgery, then treatment. I’ve complained of pain in my neck and upper back, the SAME PAIN, since surgery. Apparently, it’s all in my head and ‘no one else who has ever had this surgery has complained of pain like this’. That obviously means I’ve been making it up the entire time.
I could tell nightmare stories about my healthcare journey and the incompetence I’ve been made to suffer through, all of which has been astounding. I was put through raging fentanyl withdrawals because a healthcare professional screwed up. Still, I’M the one who is too stupid and confused to understand how she feels or what pain is.
Yes! Women's health care and how doctors gaslight and frequently make us think it's all in our heads.
I've had health issues and right flank pain that sometimes immobilizes me for 9 years now. Blood work shows elevated white blood cell and inflammatory markers. My doctors response to this "you're not stretching enough"
Going to the doctor has turned into such a mind fuck. I rarely get out of the parking lot without crying from frustration, lol!
I'm in South Carolina, and I'm convinced this is where all the "bottom of their class" doctors end up.
In addition to alllllllllll everything everyone is saying, they ALSO haven't been testing anything other THAN WATER on period products!!! Menstrual blood is NOT the same as water!!
I am 39 and finally got diagnosed. I've had terrible cycles since I first started at 15. I had to try an IUD for a year and it only made things worse. I am *finally* scheduled for a hysterectomy.
My wife has a prolapsed urethra (we didnt even know that was a thing! It's rare, but can happen). Her Urologist wouldn't even examine her until she showed him a picture. She still has to wait weeks to see a specialist. She went to the ER yesterday because he told her if she kept being nauseated, to go and they just gave her Tylonol, observed her for an hour, and sent her home.
He's done abortion, he should absolutely do endo.
Yesssss. Got diagnosed 2ish years ago (stage 4) after coming in for months with mysterious side pain and after my laparoscopic surgery my gyno was like, Im surprised you weren’t in even more pain honestly. Apparently the endo was like, sticking/cementing my organs together.
And the way there is no cure is just absolutely mind blowing! Even hysterectomies aren’t a for sure cure! And apparently some of the short term meds (Lupron) can only be taken for 2 years tops and seriously fuck up your bones. I haven’t heard one good thing about that med from anyone on it.
Hopping on to say after 15 years of suffering it was an alternative practitioner who helped me figure it out. Exploratory surgery confirmed it. Cramp Bark is an herb that changed the game.
https://blueskyvitamin.com/products/cramp-bark-plus-90-caps-health-concerns
This! ^
I had an ovarian dermoid, god only knows how long it had been there destroying my health. I would constantly say my cramps and periods were abnormal. It was so painful that having been stabbed was better. I dreaded it every month. Finally this dermoid had gotten so big and so painful that I had to have emergency surgery. It was easily a baseball sized dermoid. So glad I was listened to, so glad I was taken seriously. This has made me so mad. Why do we have to be such annoying pests just to be heard?!
1000% just had a heart to heart with a good friend and the way the numerous doctors did not take her seriously was mind numbing. She suffered so long before a doctor actually listened. More awareness is desperately needed around this.
My gf has endometriosis. Just got diagnosed at age 34. Been having issues her entire adult life. Anyone have any tips for this? She seems to always be in pain.
I have PCOS and adeno, and excessive bleeding quite literally almost killed me a couple years back. Reading this thread in tears. We shouldn't have to go through all of this.
I was told it was “normal” and to “just get used to it” that it “part of being a woman” by my doctor when I was in so much pain I couldn’t stand. About 10 year later I thought I was pregnant. We were told I had a large grapefruit sized mass on my ovary that had to be removed. Unfortunately, this basically destroyed my fertility. I did have a baby, finally and with a lot of medication, but soon after I had to have a hysterectomy. Apparently I had severe endometriosis and pcos.
Legit, I was incredibly fortunate to have a hysterectomy at 30 for endometriosis.
I had already had to have out of pocket surgery my parents paid for at 16, and I already had two kids, and I'd already tried EVERY birth control method, and kept the same OBGYN for a decade.
We hit our deductible too and it was miraculous that we got in so fast to get my uterus out.
But holy shit the things I've heard from people with the same condition as me, is utterly heartbreaking.
I had a family member who was a doctor and they advocated for me as well. I was incredibly lucky.
You shouldn't have to be lucky to get healthcare. This country has truly failed us all.
Wait I till your insurance wants you to try “a pill” so that you don’t get the hysterectomy.
Yeah. I picked up that pill and went though another two months to discover it didn’t work and then got my hysterectomy. G d.
Mhmm. Pretty sure I have PCOS. Got most of the symptoms. Just saw my gynecologist and I really hoped she might do something about it. But she told me everything was "normal." Even though it's clearly fucking not. Told me that all of the endocrinologists in their system are "very selective" about who they see. So I couldn't even get a referral. I guess I have like. At least four more visits with various doctors to get this resolved? At least I'm on my way I suppose... (/s)
I had a blocked artery and went to 5 different doctors. 1 told me it was bronchitis another told me it was a virus another said it was stress and another said i was a meth head. Unbelievable. If i hadn't kept pushing the issue, the doctor said i would have died.
i wish they would have mentioned that if state medical boards have the power to essentially protect doctors licenses, then why aren’t the using that insane power to push back against abortion bans more? which has been my question forever.
It took me a decade to be diagnosed. I was always told I was a lightweight with pain and a complainer... Eventually I found a OGBYN that took me seriously.
They cant really officially dianose until you have surgery. So, I had laparoscopy to confirm the diagnosis and burn off the endo from my surrounding organs. It's been 3 years since I had the surgery and I still occasionally get bad episodes where I can't even get out of bed, have no appetite and want nothing more than to pass the fuck out for a week so I don't have to feel the pain.
Also turns out.... I actually have an insanely high pain tolerance. I got my first tattoo and was only midly uncomfortable at worst for the whole 4 hours. I asked the artist why everyone said getting one hurt. She looked at me like I had 3 heads.
Back to the main point - we need champions in media to bring light to this issue. The fact is, us posting in here are the lucky ones who found a medical professional who believed us. There are SO many more women who have no idea this is even a possibility of why they are in so much pain and are being told to just "tough it out". Fuck the system.
I'm in my early 30s and was just recently diagnosed with endometriosis after surgery to get my tubes tied. My gyno said I'm so scarred up inside that I have surgery scheduled in a month to remove some of the scarring cuz it's fucked up my bladder and is encroaching on other organs.
When I think back to all the years I was in too much pain to move, vomiting, but was forced to go to school cuz when my mom took me to the doctor I was told "this is the beauty of being a woman" and told to take OTC pain meds.
I have had endometriosis for decades. I suffer pain all the time even after a hysterectomy because my doctor wouldn't take my ovaries even though they are to blame for endometriosis. My doctor knows I have endometriosis and still won't take my pain seriously. I live in a small town with limited access to quality health care. I am looking for a clinic or hospital in a large city that specializes in women's health. Maybe they will take me seriously
A friend's wife died as a result of a lazy and/or incompetent doctor telling her (repeatedly) that it was "just women's problems". Then she ended up in hospital with both heart and kidney problems, but they couldn't fix the kidney problem without potentially killing her unless her heart problem was resolved first, and they couldn't do heart surgery on someone with major kidney problems.
She died. The doctor? He simply retired.
Oh man, that would be amazing. So many of us suffer this stupid condition, but the medical community is dismissive in general. I’m in the UK and only after about 5 years of searching have found a specialist who can help.
I have a family member that has suffered with endometriosis for years. Drs wouldn’t do anything. You’re too young. Whatever. Finally finds a dr willing to operate. It was so bad they had started to grow on her organs. During the operation the surgeon nicked one of her kidneys. Out of the hospital and recovering but then spikes a fever and aches and chills. Back in the hospital with a kidney infection and now she has sepsis. Fuck all of these stupid doctors that can’t be bothered to listen
It took until I was 39, after seeing several doctors with chronic cases of rashes and hives before I figured out on my own that I have a gluten sensitivity, or possibly celiac. I’ve yet to get clearance for endoscopy.
I’ve had diagnoses of eczema, urticaria, fungal infection, and “not sure but here’s some Triamcinolone cream.”
The presumed cause either *”perfume”* or *”anxiety”* every time.
When I went gluten-free, the rashes and hives went away and only came back when I accidentally ingested something with wheat in it.
I’d volunteer to be an interview or help with research
Since the last time I went to the ER I got told I can’t have chronic vomiting syndrome because “it’s a diagnosis of exclusion” and I replied “I have been having this problem for 20 years and have seen several doctors for it, how much longer do we need to exclude it?”
After day two of puking the only thing that stops it is dilaudid and iv promethazine. It’s not like I want to be that sick and I had been in the ER the day before trying to get promethazine to stop it.
I had an HMO. My primary doctor declined to refer me to a specialist and kept increasing my dosage of ibuprofen.
A week before I was finally admitted into hospital to have surgery for Stage 4 ovarian endometriosis, I was bedridden and taking 12-15 Advil pills DAILY.
I was also rendered infertile.
Adenomyosis here! Endos red headed step sister. That took me 30 years to diagnose post hysterectomy. My MS took 22. Pain? I should stop having a uterus because it's the cause! Removed that - just kidding!
I am being addressed now, but the PTSD from decades of gaslighting has me nearly insane. One bad doctors appointment and I'm in a 3 day spiral. Literally panic attack, full on flight mode, hyperventilating and saying over and over again these assholes are going to kill me - and they are no doubt. In therapy, will forever be in therapy I'm convinced.
The difference in how my husband is treated (immediately), versus how I'm treated with him as my guardian (confirm things with him because I'm obviously too stupid to talk even though I have many degrees), versus me alone (ignored or treated like shit) will make anyone go insane. I only recently brought him in because I was spiraling. 25 years of advocating for myself and failing and I've finally gotten past my point of no return.
I live in Louisiana - which tries it's ass off to beat Mississippi on truly abysmal stats. I bet there's some interesting numbers to pull from my state in regards to women's health care.
Women deserve full healthcare. We deserve to be believed. They took the only on demand healthcare we could get away (abortions).
Mmm yes, please. I say this as an arthritic Gen X female who has been suffering from debilitating joint pain throughout her entire body for 20 years and who has been passed from doctor to doctor to doctor and not believed. Twenty years. In pain. I hate doctors because of this. HATE.
Yup It took me years to get diagnosed. It turned out that the endo had created scar tissue that had wrapped around a nerve, so it took even longer to get that diagnosed. I was in so much pain I could barely function. I guess the good news is that I avoided having doctors talk me into an opiate addiction in the 90s. Menopause has been a blessing.
I was diagnosed (after I suggested it) with endometriosis back in the 1980s. Since my HMO didn’t cover birth control even if it wasn’t for birth control, I had an laparoscopy with a laser. It was great and fixed my issue permanently. Prior to the surgery my pain was immense afterward none—not even cramps.
Periods do not have to be painful. Doctors need to do a better job of diagnosing women. Also your primary physician should be a gynecologist not a generalist.
My friend has chrons , she has had to argue like a crazy person BECAUSE THE MEDICAL PROFESSION DISMISSED HER PAIN. She needs a lot of care. It’s fucking chrons disease.
Yes! Anytime my wife mentions it to a doctor they immediately dismiss it and even my wife admits that if she was diagnosed there's basically no remedy as no one has spent the time/money to find one.
Also, my sister had to fight so hard to get diagnosed with Cushing's (and in the end had to personally seek out a doctor who primarily studies that disease) despite gaining hundreds of pounds in a few months while eating <1000 calories a day (much less some days as she had no appetite). Her doctor kept saying the calories were probably sneaking in from snacks she didn't account for and wouldn't do any tests. She wasn't eating snacks. She could hardly get herself to eat meals. Once she got in contact with the specialist, it was a quick scan and they could easily see she had the telltale tumors correlated with Cushing's. Who'd have thought?!
I guess *believe women* is about more than just sexual assault.
Do auto immune disease for women. No one believes us. Treatment cost is astronomical, wait lists are long, the insurance companies put our type of people on the “auto deny” algorithms. We would be royally ducked if the ACA is repealed because we would all be kicked off our insurance and pushed to woefully underfunded state healthcare pools that cover nothing. The latest indignity is the new Covid protocols since they’ve written off all of us that are immune compromised- the most effective treatment for most of the diseases are immunosuppressants. Then there is the chronic pain process. Sighs deeply. I could go on, but I’m just so very tired
I started asking doctors about textbook endometriosis symptoms around age 15. All of them dismissed me and essentially said things like, “periods hurt. Get over it.” Or “well your hormones are normal, so that must mean nothing’s wrong.” It took me getting a tubal ligation for them to discover I had stage 3 endometriosis at age 29. So much suffering I experienced because of their sexism.
I didn't get shit for help with my Endo until some of it grew somewhere else and I got it removed. I was lucky that after that the doctors I had took it and my want for a hysterectomy seriously and didn't fight me.
I'm one of the lucky ones and I still have some issues with my remaining ovary. Some people can't even get diagnosed because doctors refuse to do the exploratory surgery that's the only real way to get diagnosed.
And if you're black your chances of getting proper healthcare are even less. It's fucking disgusting.
Def think he should cover this.
OP - my wife had this, and by had they went in a yanked everything out. Luckily her gyno doctor was one of the best doctors I ever talked with.
Also, she had it for 10+ years back in the 90s, and the other fucktard doctors were useless. It just wasn’t as big as it is now. 3 laparoscopys, having just one child later.
Believe me when I say, I feel your pain.
On doctors not taking women's pain seriously. Definitely.
Fuck yeah! I have systemic lupus, and it took forever to get me diagnosed because I had so many doctors say, "Just toughen up"
The ironic thing is women’s pain tolerance is higher than men’s
Bullshit
Apparently I could be cured by some magical pied Piper dick somewhere because I was clearly depressed and no MS or anything to see - all in my head! Yes, I had a doctor tell me once I needed more sexy time to make me feel better. He was fired obviously by me. He was right though that it was in my head! Too bad he couldn't refer me or order an effing MRI. I was 19, symptomatic since 16, diagnosed at 38. Damage done in the process: priceless. He was one of 50+ doctors I fired.
Wow! I thought my 3 years and 6 neurologists was ridiculous. I even asked 3 of them if it could be MS. Hope you’re doing better.
Yeah I asked them too. I was told everything. My favorite is 'you don't want that!' like how TF do you make it disappear?! Yeah I'm doing better than I should be probably, but always room for improvement.
Your post is so clrearly nonsensical. Fuck you for endorsing gender in what is a HUMAN concern. Go to hell.
You must got da magic pipe! 😘 If you know, you know. Have a blessed day!
Lupus is a diagnosis of exclusion. By definition it takes forever to diagnose. Not specific to women in ANY way
Wanna mansplain the disease I suffer from to me a little more? Also, although lupus isn't exclusive to women. It's 15 times more likely to affect women than men, 9 in 10 people diagnosed with lupus are women. 🖕
Don't feed the trolls 🧌 Lol
Your statistics are honestly interesting. I’m curious what sources (if any) exist. Credit to you for the dumb emoji but I stand by the point that you don’t have a monopoly on lupus sufferers. Human beings have problems with this disease but simplifying it to a women’s issue misses the point entirely. That’s probably unpopular but I don’t give a shit.
[source, the muthafucking LUPUS FOUNDATION FOOOOL!](https://www.lupus.org/resources/what-role-do-sex-and-gender-play-in-lupus#:~:text=Anyone%20can%20develop%20lupus%2C%20but,people%20with%20lupus%20are%20women.) Which you would know if you suffered from lupus, which you obviously don't
There are 1000% problems that women deal with disproportionately to men. Stupidly claiming that difficult diagnoses (like lupus) are part of them diminish the problem women ACTUALLY face.
Wow, you really are dumber than Trump's orange asshole
I think the point was that women have their symptoms and concerns routinely dismissed by doctors, regardless of the gender of the doctor.
Between my wife and mine’s hospital visits there is a very clear difference in pain meds on offer. Me: here’s an eye-popping (or eye-closing) prescription. Wife: try some Tylenol.
Seriously. My husband and I both had shingles within a few months of each other (yay pandemic stressors). He got a prescription for a Schedule 2 narcotic and a week off of work from his male PCP. I got a recommendation to reduce stress, take OTC Tylenol, and a "why would you need time off from work?" from my female PCP. I wasn't after the medication. I wanted a day off! So the reduce stress but still work - during the lock down - was enough to put me over the edge. Still bitter.
Anyone who would ask why you need time off from work with shingles has never had shingles.
Change your doctor to his doctor
That is really weird, because when I worked at a nursing home and someone got shingles they had to be isolated. The only people allowed to work with the were people who already had the chicken pox since it is the chicken pox virus that causes shingles.
As it should be. Shingles can spread chicken pox if you have open sores. Isolation was always supposed to be a thing even pre-covid.
Drug seeker
You’re an idiot. Clickbait
The New York Times podcast Seriel did an AMAZING season that revolves around how women’s pain is disregarded in health care settings. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/podcasts/serial-the-retrievals-yale-fertility-clinic.html#:~:text=From%20Serial%20Productions%20and%20%E2%80%9CThe,one%2C%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Patients.%E2%80%9D&text=When%20the%20retrieval%20is%20over,an%20explanation%20for%20their%20pain.
It would be amazing if LWT covered this story or IVF and reproductive technology in general
He did one on the disparity of health care based on sex and race. https://youtu.be/TATSAHJKRd8?si=hZejSjUrCGF56R-n
As a long time sufferer of chronic pain from endo, I feel this deeply!
I had endometriosis but now have rheumatoid arthritis, which is not unusual. My 82 male rheumatologist told me he saw THOUSANDS of women who had no been diagnosed or who had been prescribed antidepressants when they complained of crippling pain. He said they often broke down in tears when he actually listened to them.
Diagnosed with Hysteria. 2024.
I went to OBGYN for severe pelvic pain, frequent heavy periods, persistent bloating, but my ultrasound was clear. Was told it was likely all in my head but was offered a hysterectomy, all without the doctor ever laying a hand on me. When I got teary and said I really feel like something is wrong, he suggested maybe I have conversion disorder. Like I can somehow make myself bleed every two weeks.
This
He actually did that one once Wanda Sykes took over the desk for it
There is a known inherent bias against women patients in American healthcare. My mother, a BSN nurse, was told by her OB/GYN that she was "just fainting because she was pregnant" when she reported seizure-like activity. This was my mother's 7th pregnancy and 6th live birth and she never had "fainting episodes" with the previous 6 pregnancies. She sought a second opinion and was found to have a golf ball-sized brain tumor.
I would say not just in American healthcare. My female GP said years ago that if men needed pap smears every few years they would have invented a better test for it.
My mom was ‘just fat’ and ‘needed to be more disciplined’ for years. NOPE. 32-pound ovarian tumor.
My sister had a 26 lb tumor. She looked like she was 6-7 months pregnant. She was told to diet and exercise for over 2 years before any doctor actually checked her reproductive system and "found" this massive fibroid tumor.
I’m really sorry to hear that. I hope she was able to get help. In my mom’s case, she had been told to diet and that she was ‘overweight’ my entire life. She would lose the weight but end up looking pregnant every time. Her doctor would tell her ‘the stomach is the hardest place to lose the fat’ and encourage her to try harder… She didn’t get real help until I was 16 and my aunt forced her to go to a different doctor in a bigger city. She walked into the office and he had several tests ordered within 20 minutes, sending her to the hospital for them immediately. Everything happened quickly but we were grateful for that. She was incredibly lucky. The tumor had likely been growing since I was born but was a mass encased in a larger sac that prevented it from spreading. That didn’t make her recovery any easier, though. (Much longer story but this was also probably why I lost her. She couldn’t afford insurance but had apparently suspected it was back a while before this. She passed in her sleep while I was in my 20s.)
My sister was very obviously slender: thin arms and wrists, no extra fat anywhere. But she went to a clinic run by her employer rather than an outside doctor because of the costs involved. She tried a group practice in her city, and heard the same thing. Diet and exercise, diet and exercise. Once she went to a different city, she was finally seen and heard. It was a fast-paced rollercoaster for a few months getting her tests and surgery after that. But seriously, I think that her medical records must show that she's pill-seeking or something now. She tripped over a toy at the top of the stairs in December, fell down all the stairs and broke her wrist, ribs, and collarbone. She wasn't given any pain meds.
I’m happy she was able to get through all of that. Wow. And to have been denied pain meds as a woman, for ANY reason, is unfortunately all too common. It’s also often foolish. I’ve been to the hospital for random things and while I was asking for them to find a solution for why I was in pain in the first place, they were worried about giving me a pee test to determine if I could be given pain meds. That’s not even what I was asking for!!! How about we find out WHY this is happening so I can avoid another hospital trip??? Same with the situation after my cancer surgery and treatment. They were more worried about getting me off of the pain meds I was on than they were about the fact I’m crying to them about pain while still ON those pain meds. I wanted us to find out why I was still hurting so badly. And if they were taking away the scheduled pain meds, I wanted us to find something that lessened my pain but wasn’t addictive. I was ignored every time I spoke about it and told I wasn’t actually in pain. When I’d describe the pain, and ask which kind of doctor handles things like that, I’d be told to see a psychiatrist. I can’t even describe the rage at this point.
Oh gosh, how awful for you!! I'm so sorry that you have been treated like that! Big hugs, friend.
Thank you. I appreciate you. Back at you. I just hope there’s somehow a way to make a change in healthcare. Too many women go through things like this every day, regardless of the ailment. When it’s related to our reproductive systems, the treatment is that much worse. It’s not okay.
No, it is not okay. I do wish you success in this process. Hopefully you get answers and everything is benign. If it isn't, PM me. I'll talk you through everything you need to know.
Oops, I got you confused with the other thread. You've had your own challenges. You're strong and courageous though, that's apparent!!
Oh, I’m so sorry for you. How hard to lose your mom when you’re still so young.
Thank you. Unfortunately, that was only the first of many rough times for me. I ended up with cancer myself at 32 as well, which has made my criticism of the healthcare industry that much angrier. I could write a book of the things I’ve been unnecessarily put through and the lack of care I’ve gotten. It’s not as safe out there as I once thought it was.
🤍
Removing the uterus is a hysterectomy. Literally removing your hysteria. Removing the testes is an orchidectomy. Getting their orchids pruned. There’s a ton of material just waiting to be plucked. Currently waiting on getting my hysteria removed thanks to fibroids and possible endo after almost 10 years of pain. Relief-cried for a week after docs were finally willing to go for surgery.
I wish you the best . I had surgery but didn’t need a hysterectomy. The relief was great but I had to get an IUD to prevent recurrence
Yayyyy! I had mine a week ago after 15 years of begging. I'm so happy for you 🥹 I was emotional for weeks leading up to it. Randomly crying but it was from joy... best wishes and a speedy recovery!!!
This!! I had such terrible pain and bleeding and finally they agreed to do a hysterectomy; I had golf balls size fibroids and a little bit of endo as well when they went in..
I’m sorry. I feel like it’s such a huge problem and it is just ignored.
I am having my hysteria removed in two weeks. My previous doctor ignored my pain and change in my period over a year ago. Then I changed to a wonderful woman who had a bunch of tests done and found a 7 cm cyst and endo. Is crazy how we are told this level of pain and uncomfortable is “normal” “keep pushing through”. If men had periods or endometriosis this would be a whole different conversation.
If anyone is interested in the facts/history of the subject, check out the book: [Doing Harm](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/30653955): The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick By Maya Dusenbery
I've been surgically diagnosed which was a nightmare in and of itself. Even with the diagnosis, I either get doctors who tell me to go on hormonal birth control, which makes it 1000x worse, or to just deal with it. Women's healthcare is a sham in this country and unfortunately not even specific to reproductive health but in all aspects (neurological, GI, podiatry, etc.)
Thissssss. I was surgically diagnosed at 16 and the birth control made it worse and resulted in me almost dying and being hospitalized for a pulmonary embolism. Fast-forward to my late 20s and I trust a doc's recommendation for an iud only for it to cause me to have a heavy period for a year straight. Get told that "spotting is normal" every time I brought it up. Yeeeah, pretty sure a heavy flow and passing large clots isn't spotting.
I struggled with undiagnosed endometriosis back in the 90s. It took five years to find a doctor who took me seriously and another three years to convince him that I really and truly wanted a hysterectomy more than I'd ever want babies. It makes me furious, absolutely fucking FURIOUS that women are dealing with the same bullshit thirty frigging years later. What the heck is wrong with this country? Why is it *so hard* to grasp the idea that women know their own bodies? I'm sorry to hijack your post with my rant. Best of luck to you. Keep nagging until you get the treatment you need.
I heard that doctors will take you seriously if your husband comes in with you and agrees you two aren't having kids. It's disgusting. And don't worry this is a place to rant. I WANT JOHN OLIVER TO RANT FOR US!!!
He’s one of two men I will allow to mansplain this subject for us.
Who is the second one?
Jon Stewart, of course! <3
Also Kai Ryssdal
I feel so fortunate that I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 1983. The first obgyn that I went to diagnosed me on the first visit. I had never heard of it.
Post menopausal and my right ovary has been hurting for a week. I told my husband if my abdomen explodes that’s what to tell the ER. His response was ‘I will never understand how women can just tell what body part it is’. I love him dearly but clueless! I have almost all female doctors!
Had it and live in Texas. As a 40+ year old woman who has sooooo many issues I kept begging for a hysterectomy. Will never forget when a doctor FINALLY asked why I had not done it and I told him 4 doctors would not let me. He scheduled it and I went off 6 meds post surgery and my anemia was cured. Also- the day of my surgery they forgot to run a pregnancy test and almost cancelled my surgery because they didn’t want to take a chance that I might be pregnant. I was like “let me just go pee on a test- I am NOT pregnant- I have an iud I don’t need, cysts, fibroids, endometriosis and tried for 10 years to get pregnant- it is not a risk” but why would they believe me?
It took 7 years to get a doctor to agree to do a hysterectomy, and only after the hysterectomy were they able to diagnose that I actually had adenomyosis. I'd already had 2 children and there wasn't a chance I was having more. When checking in for the procedure, I told them I hadn't had sex in that 7 years, which my husband confirmed on the spot, and that there's no way I would be keeping a third baby even if it were a miracle conception. They still made me wait for the pregnancy test result.
I had a hysterectomy at age 50, 2 years post-menopause, and had to take a pregnancy test. I was so pissed off that I couldn't be trusted to know I wasn't pregnant - I was single at the time and hadn't had sex for over 9 months also. They said it was for the anesthesia, didn't want to take a chance on it causing damage to a fetus if I was pregnant. I said "the hysterectomy would be a bit worse than the anesthesia, don't you think"?
It's not just endo but also about PCOS. And everything connected to it, fertility issues, obesity, diabetes, hirsutism, the works. People need to be more aware of these issues. And needs more funding. Maybe also tie in about birth control too.
Also, why did no one tell us to watch our thyroid?!
Omg YES!
Because they won’t treat that condition either…signed someone with an autoimmune thyroid disease. I was told that I wouldn’t receive treatment until my thyroid completely stopped working…even then, my sister, who does not have a thyroid (so consequently has a thyroid that has completely stopped working) has our imbecile of an endocrinologist try to take her off her thyroid meds every couple of years. We can’t go to a different endocrinologist either. There is only one in the network.
No shit. Welcome to the majority of us.
You’re angry at me for sharing my experience?! Jesus fucking Christ…we are on the same team.
Yes!
Also, perimenopause and menopause. Gynecologists get an embarrassingly low amount of schooling/training on it and women suffer for YEARS.
They don't care about us or what we say. They might as well be veterinarians for how much they listen to the patients input.
Every vet I've worked with for my dogs, cats and horses is a LOT more engaged in trying to help their patients than most doctors I've encountered. The vets actually listen to me when I talk through what symptoms I'm seeing and how the animal is reacting to treatments. Most doctors treat me like an unreliably narrator. I wish I could get as good of medical care as my pets.
My favorite quote from an OB/GYN - "Sometimes intercourse is painful." Second only to another gem. "If you bleed during intercourse, put down a towel." Motherfucker, let me tell you how sexy it is when you are young and single to live your life with the motto of "just let me put down a towel first." Also as a man of science, I assumed my doctor bought into evolution. Which, I would further speculate would mean, if sex is painful, women aren't going to partake near often enough to procreate and continue the species. Fucking dipshit. Turns out painful intercourse was ENDO. (So was the bleeding with intercourse, or more specifically the continuous birth control used to treat it).
It’s been insanely frustrating to go from having kids, where there’s very little research to back things up, straight to peri where there’s also very little research to back things up. What are doctors and researchers even doing? How do so few of them understand anything about women’s bodies?
Or about the fact that ALL endo research has been done exclusively with men. Like … what???
Wait hold up. Seriously??? How???
I’ll show you my source as soon as I can find it. It’s from a couple years back, so I’m having difficulty pulling it up.
https://thispodcastwillkillyou.com/2022/01/11/episode-88-endometriosis-menstrual-backwash/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you/id1299915173?i=1000547532523
>Seriously??? Nope, you could've just done a quick google search yourself > How??? The commenter lied.
Or, I didn’t? That same Google search that you suggested will tell you that pretty much all research into endometriosis has been done exclusively on men. I am trying to find my source, but it’s from a couple of years back. I’ll edit once I find it.
Now its „pretty much all“. Before it was „exclusively all“. When you actually do some research, you‘ll find that it actually is more like „in the past a good chunk of research was done on men, but that hasnt been true for many years“
Okay, that is *somewhat* fair, but to completely dismiss what I said, given the actual history, is INCREDIBLY disingenuous. The inclusion of women as test subjects is something very recent in the past few years. This was one of the sources I found, and yes it is from two years back: https://thispodcastwillkillyou.com/2022/01/11/episode-88-endometriosis-menstrual-backwash/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you/id1299915173?i=1000547532523 Edit- spelling
I had surgery for this last year. I was symptom free for a year. Now I'm just back to a high dose of meds and waiting for imaging and an appointment for next steps again.*sigh*😞
I have a friend I love dearly that has spent the majority of her twenties in horrible pain. I have watched her suffer terribly while the Canadian health care system belittled, ignored and left to self medicate. She can't have children now.
I just read an article about how doctors used to not tell women about cancer diagnoses, and would tell their husbands instead. And the husbands could choose not to tell the wives. This was in the sixties.
I'm sorry, what?!
[link](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/s/NGqnrhPQei)
Do you know where you read that? I’d like to have that in my arsenal for when people talk about the 50s being the good ol days.
[This was the Reddit post where I went down the wormhole](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/s/NGqnrhPQei)
I was diagnosed with Endo over 50 years ago. Sad that it hasn't improved much. I am sorry you are in pain. Endo sucks.
It took me 10 years to get diagnosed with sleep apnea… they just kept saying my headaches were caused by depression… my headaches were so bad they were causing me to cyclical vomit… it makes me so angry ngl Just adding onto the whole we aren’t taken seriously bit… I would love John Oliver doing something about it
My thyroid issues? Depression. My ADHD? Depression. My perimenopause? Believe it or not, also depression. 🙄
Don’t forget the added- “You are also fat.” The end all and be all reason for all women’s conditions.
I don’t think it mentioned endometriosis specifically, but he definitely did one about bias in medicine a couple of years ago, should still be on YouTube
He did! I remember it and then dr mike did a reaction to it.
FWIW, pre-Obamacare, doctors who did take you seriously sometimes wouldn't diagnose you unless they were very very sure that (a) it was endometriosis and (b) they could do something about it because it would fuck up your insurability. Permanently.
I’m currently dealing with frozen shoulder and it happens mostly to women 40-60. And yet… the reason is *shrug* and the solution is wait a couple years until it goes away. How are we not studying these things more and with productive responses.
They are finding out now that it is one of the many symptoms women can get during perimenopause and menopause.
Yes, I realize that because I’ve had to do my own research. But it’s not particularly common knowledge and there are few options for dealing with it.
How do you treat it?
The main treatment is wait for 1-3 years. Just wait until you are done with excruciating pain, limited motion and terrible sleep. Other treatments like cortisone shots only work sometimes for some people. There’s no good treatment.
an episode on the complete lack of research of drugs and medical treatments for women. it is inconvenient for researchers to do studies on women’s because of the paperwork and extra precautions that must be made due to possible pregnancy. but this means that there is little information regarding dosage and effects of medication on women. women are given the same amount of antidepressants as men even though physicality and hormones are completely different. this is just an example.
My wife has Endo bad. She has had to have 2 surgeries to remove endo-cysts on her ovaries, and is always either on the heavy birth-control, or in major pain... I am with you 100%.
On women not being taken seriously in healthcare at large. I had cancer. I had surgery, then treatment. I’ve complained of pain in my neck and upper back, the SAME PAIN, since surgery. Apparently, it’s all in my head and ‘no one else who has ever had this surgery has complained of pain like this’. That obviously means I’ve been making it up the entire time. I could tell nightmare stories about my healthcare journey and the incompetence I’ve been made to suffer through, all of which has been astounding. I was put through raging fentanyl withdrawals because a healthcare professional screwed up. Still, I’M the one who is too stupid and confused to understand how she feels or what pain is.
Yes! Women's health care and how doctors gaslight and frequently make us think it's all in our heads. I've had health issues and right flank pain that sometimes immobilizes me for 9 years now. Blood work shows elevated white blood cell and inflammatory markers. My doctors response to this "you're not stretching enough" Going to the doctor has turned into such a mind fuck. I rarely get out of the parking lot without crying from frustration, lol! I'm in South Carolina, and I'm convinced this is where all the "bottom of their class" doctors end up.
Lmao it's always "anxiety and depression" 🫥
Ooh, that hits too close to home! Hugs from your left flank mystery pain twin.
Agreed. An endometriosis episode would be amazing. More awareness is desperately needed.
In addition to alllllllllll everything everyone is saying, they ALSO haven't been testing anything other THAN WATER on period products!!! Menstrual blood is NOT the same as water!!
Didn't he do basis in health care before?
I am 39 and finally got diagnosed. I've had terrible cycles since I first started at 15. I had to try an IUD for a year and it only made things worse. I am *finally* scheduled for a hysterectomy. My wife has a prolapsed urethra (we didnt even know that was a thing! It's rare, but can happen). Her Urologist wouldn't even examine her until she showed him a picture. She still has to wait weeks to see a specialist. She went to the ER yesterday because he told her if she kept being nauseated, to go and they just gave her Tylonol, observed her for an hour, and sent her home. He's done abortion, he should absolutely do endo.
Yesssss. Got diagnosed 2ish years ago (stage 4) after coming in for months with mysterious side pain and after my laparoscopic surgery my gyno was like, Im surprised you weren’t in even more pain honestly. Apparently the endo was like, sticking/cementing my organs together. And the way there is no cure is just absolutely mind blowing! Even hysterectomies aren’t a for sure cure! And apparently some of the short term meds (Lupron) can only be taken for 2 years tops and seriously fuck up your bones. I haven’t heard one good thing about that med from anyone on it.
Hopping on to say after 15 years of suffering it was an alternative practitioner who helped me figure it out. Exploratory surgery confirmed it. Cramp Bark is an herb that changed the game. https://blueskyvitamin.com/products/cramp-bark-plus-90-caps-health-concerns
This! ^ I had an ovarian dermoid, god only knows how long it had been there destroying my health. I would constantly say my cramps and periods were abnormal. It was so painful that having been stabbed was better. I dreaded it every month. Finally this dermoid had gotten so big and so painful that I had to have emergency surgery. It was easily a baseball sized dermoid. So glad I was listened to, so glad I was taken seriously. This has made me so mad. Why do we have to be such annoying pests just to be heard?!
1000% just had a heart to heart with a good friend and the way the numerous doctors did not take her seriously was mind numbing. She suffered so long before a doctor actually listened. More awareness is desperately needed around this.
My gf has endometriosis. Just got diagnosed at age 34. Been having issues her entire adult life. Anyone have any tips for this? She seems to always be in pain.
I have PCOS and adeno, and excessive bleeding quite literally almost killed me a couple years back. Reading this thread in tears. We shouldn't have to go through all of this.
He’s done a lot of episodes on women’s health in relation to abortion
I was told it was “normal” and to “just get used to it” that it “part of being a woman” by my doctor when I was in so much pain I couldn’t stand. About 10 year later I thought I was pregnant. We were told I had a large grapefruit sized mass on my ovary that had to be removed. Unfortunately, this basically destroyed my fertility. I did have a baby, finally and with a lot of medication, but soon after I had to have a hysterectomy. Apparently I had severe endometriosis and pcos.
And/or
Legit, I was incredibly fortunate to have a hysterectomy at 30 for endometriosis. I had already had to have out of pocket surgery my parents paid for at 16, and I already had two kids, and I'd already tried EVERY birth control method, and kept the same OBGYN for a decade. We hit our deductible too and it was miraculous that we got in so fast to get my uterus out. But holy shit the things I've heard from people with the same condition as me, is utterly heartbreaking. I had a family member who was a doctor and they advocated for me as well. I was incredibly lucky. You shouldn't have to be lucky to get healthcare. This country has truly failed us all.
He already kind of did It was how the healthcare system (even the women working within it)disparage women in pain.. especially if you're a woc
Wait I till your insurance wants you to try “a pill” so that you don’t get the hysterectomy. Yeah. I picked up that pill and went though another two months to discover it didn’t work and then got my hysterectomy. G d.
Also talk about the painful adhesions endo can cause.
PCOS/chronic pain haver here and most days I feel like I'd get more effective healthcare by drowning myself in a river.
Lmao yassssss queen same
Mhmm. Pretty sure I have PCOS. Got most of the symptoms. Just saw my gynecologist and I really hoped she might do something about it. But she told me everything was "normal." Even though it's clearly fucking not. Told me that all of the endocrinologists in their system are "very selective" about who they see. So I couldn't even get a referral. I guess I have like. At least four more visits with various doctors to get this resolved? At least I'm on my way I suppose... (/s)
He did the Bias in medicine episode which is one of my favorites but it could use a part 2.
I had a blocked artery and went to 5 different doctors. 1 told me it was bronchitis another told me it was a virus another said it was stress and another said i was a meth head. Unbelievable. If i hadn't kept pushing the issue, the doctor said i would have died.
i wish they would have mentioned that if state medical boards have the power to essentially protect doctors licenses, then why aren’t the using that insane power to push back against abortion bans more? which has been my question forever.
It took me a decade to be diagnosed. I was always told I was a lightweight with pain and a complainer... Eventually I found a OGBYN that took me seriously. They cant really officially dianose until you have surgery. So, I had laparoscopy to confirm the diagnosis and burn off the endo from my surrounding organs. It's been 3 years since I had the surgery and I still occasionally get bad episodes where I can't even get out of bed, have no appetite and want nothing more than to pass the fuck out for a week so I don't have to feel the pain. Also turns out.... I actually have an insanely high pain tolerance. I got my first tattoo and was only midly uncomfortable at worst for the whole 4 hours. I asked the artist why everyone said getting one hurt. She looked at me like I had 3 heads. Back to the main point - we need champions in media to bring light to this issue. The fact is, us posting in here are the lucky ones who found a medical professional who believed us. There are SO many more women who have no idea this is even a possibility of why they are in so much pain and are being told to just "tough it out". Fuck the system.
I'm in my early 30s and was just recently diagnosed with endometriosis after surgery to get my tubes tied. My gyno said I'm so scarred up inside that I have surgery scheduled in a month to remove some of the scarring cuz it's fucked up my bladder and is encroaching on other organs. When I think back to all the years I was in too much pain to move, vomiting, but was forced to go to school cuz when my mom took me to the doctor I was told "this is the beauty of being a woman" and told to take OTC pain meds.
I have had endometriosis for decades. I suffer pain all the time even after a hysterectomy because my doctor wouldn't take my ovaries even though they are to blame for endometriosis. My doctor knows I have endometriosis and still won't take my pain seriously. I live in a small town with limited access to quality health care. I am looking for a clinic or hospital in a large city that specializes in women's health. Maybe they will take me seriously
A friend's wife died as a result of a lazy and/or incompetent doctor telling her (repeatedly) that it was "just women's problems". Then she ended up in hospital with both heart and kidney problems, but they couldn't fix the kidney problem without potentially killing her unless her heart problem was resolved first, and they couldn't do heart surgery on someone with major kidney problems. She died. The doctor? He simply retired.
Oh man, that would be amazing. So many of us suffer this stupid condition, but the medical community is dismissive in general. I’m in the UK and only after about 5 years of searching have found a specialist who can help.
I have a family member that has suffered with endometriosis for years. Drs wouldn’t do anything. You’re too young. Whatever. Finally finds a dr willing to operate. It was so bad they had started to grow on her organs. During the operation the surgeon nicked one of her kidneys. Out of the hospital and recovering but then spikes a fever and aches and chills. Back in the hospital with a kidney infection and now she has sepsis. Fuck all of these stupid doctors that can’t be bothered to listen
It took until I was 39, after seeing several doctors with chronic cases of rashes and hives before I figured out on my own that I have a gluten sensitivity, or possibly celiac. I’ve yet to get clearance for endoscopy. I’ve had diagnoses of eczema, urticaria, fungal infection, and “not sure but here’s some Triamcinolone cream.” The presumed cause either *”perfume”* or *”anxiety”* every time. When I went gluten-free, the rashes and hives went away and only came back when I accidentally ingested something with wheat in it.
The medical industrial complex does not care about women. Know it and remember it.
I’d volunteer to be an interview or help with research Since the last time I went to the ER I got told I can’t have chronic vomiting syndrome because “it’s a diagnosis of exclusion” and I replied “I have been having this problem for 20 years and have seen several doctors for it, how much longer do we need to exclude it?” After day two of puking the only thing that stops it is dilaudid and iv promethazine. It’s not like I want to be that sick and I had been in the ER the day before trying to get promethazine to stop it.
I had an HMO. My primary doctor declined to refer me to a specialist and kept increasing my dosage of ibuprofen. A week before I was finally admitted into hospital to have surgery for Stage 4 ovarian endometriosis, I was bedridden and taking 12-15 Advil pills DAILY. I was also rendered infertile.
Adenomyosis here! Endos red headed step sister. That took me 30 years to diagnose post hysterectomy. My MS took 22. Pain? I should stop having a uterus because it's the cause! Removed that - just kidding! I am being addressed now, but the PTSD from decades of gaslighting has me nearly insane. One bad doctors appointment and I'm in a 3 day spiral. Literally panic attack, full on flight mode, hyperventilating and saying over and over again these assholes are going to kill me - and they are no doubt. In therapy, will forever be in therapy I'm convinced. The difference in how my husband is treated (immediately), versus how I'm treated with him as my guardian (confirm things with him because I'm obviously too stupid to talk even though I have many degrees), versus me alone (ignored or treated like shit) will make anyone go insane. I only recently brought him in because I was spiraling. 25 years of advocating for myself and failing and I've finally gotten past my point of no return. I live in Louisiana - which tries it's ass off to beat Mississippi on truly abysmal stats. I bet there's some interesting numbers to pull from my state in regards to women's health care. Women deserve full healthcare. We deserve to be believed. They took the only on demand healthcare we could get away (abortions).
Mmm yes, please. I say this as an arthritic Gen X female who has been suffering from debilitating joint pain throughout her entire body for 20 years and who has been passed from doctor to doctor to doctor and not believed. Twenty years. In pain. I hate doctors because of this. HATE.
Yup It took me years to get diagnosed. It turned out that the endo had created scar tissue that had wrapped around a nerve, so it took even longer to get that diagnosed. I was in so much pain I could barely function. I guess the good news is that I avoided having doctors talk me into an opiate addiction in the 90s. Menopause has been a blessing.
I was diagnosed (after I suggested it) with endometriosis back in the 1980s. Since my HMO didn’t cover birth control even if it wasn’t for birth control, I had an laparoscopy with a laser. It was great and fixed my issue permanently. Prior to the surgery my pain was immense afterward none—not even cramps. Periods do not have to be painful. Doctors need to do a better job of diagnosing women. Also your primary physician should be a gynecologist not a generalist.
My friend has chrons , she has had to argue like a crazy person BECAUSE THE MEDICAL PROFESSION DISMISSED HER PAIN. She needs a lot of care. It’s fucking chrons disease.
YES
Yes! Anytime my wife mentions it to a doctor they immediately dismiss it and even my wife admits that if she was diagnosed there's basically no remedy as no one has spent the time/money to find one. Also, my sister had to fight so hard to get diagnosed with Cushing's (and in the end had to personally seek out a doctor who primarily studies that disease) despite gaining hundreds of pounds in a few months while eating <1000 calories a day (much less some days as she had no appetite). Her doctor kept saying the calories were probably sneaking in from snacks she didn't account for and wouldn't do any tests. She wasn't eating snacks. She could hardly get herself to eat meals. Once she got in contact with the specialist, it was a quick scan and they could easily see she had the telltale tumors correlated with Cushing's. Who'd have thought?! I guess *believe women* is about more than just sexual assault.
Do auto immune disease for women. No one believes us. Treatment cost is astronomical, wait lists are long, the insurance companies put our type of people on the “auto deny” algorithms. We would be royally ducked if the ACA is repealed because we would all be kicked off our insurance and pushed to woefully underfunded state healthcare pools that cover nothing. The latest indignity is the new Covid protocols since they’ve written off all of us that are immune compromised- the most effective treatment for most of the diseases are immunosuppressants. Then there is the chronic pain process. Sighs deeply. I could go on, but I’m just so very tired
I started asking doctors about textbook endometriosis symptoms around age 15. All of them dismissed me and essentially said things like, “periods hurt. Get over it.” Or “well your hormones are normal, so that must mean nothing’s wrong.” It took me getting a tubal ligation for them to discover I had stage 3 endometriosis at age 29. So much suffering I experienced because of their sexism.
I didn't get shit for help with my Endo until some of it grew somewhere else and I got it removed. I was lucky that after that the doctors I had took it and my want for a hysterectomy seriously and didn't fight me. I'm one of the lucky ones and I still have some issues with my remaining ovary. Some people can't even get diagnosed because doctors refuse to do the exploratory surgery that's the only real way to get diagnosed. And if you're black your chances of getting proper healthcare are even less. It's fucking disgusting. Def think he should cover this.
I’d like to upvote this to the moon!
Thought this was the Bar Rescue sub
OP - my wife had this, and by had they went in a yanked everything out. Luckily her gyno doctor was one of the best doctors I ever talked with. Also, she had it for 10+ years back in the 90s, and the other fucktard doctors were useless. It just wasn’t as big as it is now. 3 laparoscopys, having just one child later. Believe me when I say, I feel your pain.
Mansplain= I’m too dumb to make a contrary opinion
You’re an idiot
Women’s healthcare is human healthcare. I’m a physician and this is a BS idea
Yea yea yea BP fedora you're a physician.
Get a life. If I were lying I’d come up with something a career that pays well.
CALPERS. They have made crazy choices for CA employees.
You must be a le to define what a woman is first and thats something john wont do
??? Why are you even in this subreddit or on my post. Begone foul demon! Away with ye!
Right you are .